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Signing With Babies Chat #32, with Sarah Bingham of WeeHands
( www.weehands.com )
5/12/05

4 mamas in attendance

20:17:53 WeeHands OFFICIAL START OF THE SIGNING WITH BABY CHAT! WELCOME! MY NAME IS SARA FROM WEEHANDS AND I AM YOUR HOSTESS TODAY! THIS CHAT IS TRANSCRIPTED AND POSTED ON THE SUNDAY FOLLOWING THIS CHAT...PLEASE KEEP THAT IN MIND WHEN POSTING TO THIS CHAT. THANK YOU! :)
20:18:14 WeeHands how are you  ourwiefamily ?
20:18:41 ourwiefamily I have strep throat so miserable (sorry, I'm way too honest, lol)
20:19:05 tricia_sign_instrr some one had that a few weeks ago -was that you ?
20:19:08 ourwiefamily On the bright side, it gives us a chance to practice our sick" and "owie" signs"
20:19:14 tricia_sign_instrr lol
20:19:38 ourwiefamily Yes ... I had it just 4 weeks ago.  YUK  The doctor put the whole family (except baby Maria) on antibiotics because he thinks we are passing it around in an endless loop.
20:19:53 WeeHands a good time to just not talk as well and sign!
20:20:31 ourwiefamily Yes, I really missed that about signing (from when we used to sign w/ our two oldest).  I always relied on signing to get through laryngitis ... it's nice to have that option again, though I have to be more fluent than I am now.  :)
20:21:51 WeeHands oh, it was so useful with my hubbie when i had laryngitis last year!
20:22:43 ourwiefamily I was reading some FAQs on sign language and it was very interesting.  I feel like I'm learning so much about it ...
20:22:53 ourwiefamily Things I didn't know before
20:23:09 WeeHands where were the FAQs?
20:23:22 ourwiefamily Like for example, I never really understood the whole ASL vs SEE sign vs. Pidgin (sp?) etc before.
20:23:36 ourwiefamily They were in the files section of the Alex and Leah email list (from signing times)
20:23:58 ourwiefamily I think the sign we did before was a combination of SEE sign and Pidgin (am I spelling that last one correctly?)
20:24:32 tricia_sign_instrr Yes spellling is correct. SEE was made up by teachers of the deaf who were/are hearing!
20:24:33 WeeHands yes, that's spelled correctly - going to check out FAQs now!
20:24:38 ourwiefamily I know now that we were not being taught ASL (our teacher was deaf and teaching us what he knew)
20:24:43 WeeHands hi terrie!
20:24:48 signingminionmaker hey!
20:25:11 ourwiefamily The FAQs there are very confusing and not well put together, just so you know ... it is one LONG file w/ all the questions in there.  I hope they fix it up so it's more user friendly!
20:25:27 signingminionmaker which faqs are these?
20:25:47 ourwiefamily They are in the files section of the Alex and Leah email  group (signing times related)
20:25:47 tricia_sign_instrr Ourwie - if your teacher wasn't teaching ASL what do you believe he was teaching you?
20:25:49 WeeHands from the AlexLeah yahoo! group
20:26:05 ourwiefamily He was teaching us a combination of SEE and Pidgin
20:26:09 signingminionmaker oh, isn't it just being done by like some volunteers?
20:26:21 ourwiefamily yes ... it's  just a volunteer thing
20:26:38 ourwiefamily Someone was mentioning maybe putting it together better which I hope they do because there is so much good info in there
20:26:42 tricia_sign_instrr ahh I see" - sorry for the pun!"
20:26:58 WeeHands *)
20:27:10 WeeHands love those icons!
20:27:17 signingminionmaker :(
20:27:22 signingminionmaker :)
20:27:30 ourwiefamily I just came away from the FAQ feeling so sad ... it made me understand some of wh at was going on w/ Joe (our deaf friend) ... we thought maybe he had some brain damage but I actually think it may have been a result of his education and other factors.
20:27:38 tricia_sign_instrr Altho the Deaf community believes that Deaf individuals should teach ASL (or sign lang) I don't think that is the best policy - all the time.
20:28:07 signingminionmaker why is that?
20:28:09 ourwiefamily His family didn't learn any signs until he was in school ... well, I think they knew two signs.
20:28:36 ourwiefamily He was deaf almost from birth ... actually was the result of meningitis at a very young age.  And yet, they didn't make the effort to learn sign for years.  :(
20:28:44 tricia_sign_instrr oh that is so typical of Deaf children who have hearing parents!
20:29:01 signingminionmaker I just recently met a woman married to a deaf man who is 36 and does not sign.  He refuses.  They are expecting and she's hearing and worried about him being able to communicate with baby.
20:29:18 ourwiefamily And then from what was being said in those FAQs about the type of education deaf children receive, it sounds like a lot of times it isn't very good ... they said that a lot of deaf kids graduate w/a third grade reading level and unable to function well.
20:29:21 ourwiefamily That was Joe.
20:29:54 tricia_sign_instrr in my opinion that borders on abuse (parents not signing to their young Deaf child!)
20:30:00 signingminionmaker I think there is alot of fighting that needs to be done.
20:30:12 tricia_sign_instrr Absolutely,Terrie!
20:30:26 ourwiefamily tricia_sign_instrr I agree ... and the abuse issues went far beyond that (seriously ... very sad, scary family situation)
20:30:34 signingminionmaker we really have to work against all the stereotypes and get ASL out there for everyone.
20:31:04 ourwiefamily Reading up on the issue was just very eye opening to me.  It makes me want to do something.  And I guess I am.  I'm teaching my kids ASL.  :)
20:31:07 tricia_sign_instrr and that's why we love to teach ASL, advocate the use of ASL, preserve ASL and educate about DEAF culture!
20:31:12 WeeHands amen terrie!
20:31:32 signingminionmaker Not just me...YEAH WEEHANDS!!!
20:31:44 WeeHands :blush:
20:32:04 WeeHands . . .just approved our first US instructor! from NYC!
20:32:08 ourwiefamily What was just sad was that Joe couldn't even function well talking to deaf people.
20:32:08 signingminionmaker Seriously, i'm not just in this biz because I think it's a money making fad.
20:32:22 signingminionmaker It really means something to me and I want that to be shared with everyone
20:32:45 signingminionmaker AWESOME!!!!!  So we're international?
20:32:50 ourwiefamily WOW  WeeHands that is very cool!  What does it take to become an instructor?
20:32:57 tricia_sign_instrr Oh I feel the same way Terrie. I think my family thinks I am a little nuts with this whole ASL instruction thing!
20:33:31 signingminionmaker Yeah, but it's working for us and I know it works for others so...Just try and stop me!!!
20:33:45 ourwiefamily My sister is really looking for something to do as a job that she would love.  Everything she looks at though takes years of school (expensive and time consuming)
20:33:46 tricia_sign_instrr Myolder sister is hoh, not identified until 9 years of age. She had very hard years altho my parents were very loving and got her the help she needed.
20:33:53 WeeHands formal training in ASL, experience teaching adults, and a love of signing with your baby!
20:34:28 signingminionmaker See, it is so tough and it shouldn't be.  It should just be about communication.
20:34:32 WeeHands i didn't know that tricia
20:34:40 ourwiefamily And yet ... she is almost fluent in Spanish (her spouse is from Mexico) and she is very skilled in sign language ... though she would need to really make the switch to ASL, but that wouldn't take her much I don't think.
20:35:15 WeeHands i would love to speak spanish - it's such an awesome language!
20:35:20 ourwiefamily So I keep telling my sis she should do something w/ her languages.  She is already so talented.
20:35:52 tricia_sign_instrr yes, Marilyn is 50 yrs old (much older than  me). I realize after all these years I used to be  her oral interpreter" when we would go out socializing together -at movies, the bars (when I turned 18 and she took me with her). People would think I was olde"
20:35:53 signingminionmaker Speaking of ASL teachers, I am back in school redoing my certs and so far two classes and no mention of grammar or proper phrasing.
20:36:30 tricia_sign_instrr older than her because my communication skills were far superior than Marilyn's  She could have benefited from signing - but was not accepted in the 60's
20:37:04 tricia_sign_instrr Marilyn being hoh got me interested in the profession of audiology. My mother thought audiologists were god" for her and my sister."
20:37:31 ourwiefamily It's amazing the things that inspire us into our adulthood vocations, isn't it?
20:38:15 signingminionmaker For me it was a girlfriend years and years ago in an interpreters program.  Funny cause no she's come to me to teach her and her family and wee ones sign.
20:38:25 signingminionmaker that's now
20:38:36 ourwiefamily There was an Extreme Makeover Home Edition that had a blind father on it ... recent, just 4m before taping (result of a crime).  The son wants to grow up and create a cybersomething or other eye for his father so he can see again.  That's the inspiration
20:38:39 tricia_sign_instrr yes, I'm not sure it's always for the best.. just kidding. .. being cynical (a Canadian trait,eh?)
20:38:42 ourwiefamily the world needs
20:39:04 signingminionmaker eh?
20:39:26 signingminionmaker So tricia are you an audiologist?  Is that even the right word?
20:39:36 signingminionmaker Oh it is
20:39:37 tricia_sign_instrr yes, right word!
20:39:52 tricia_sign_instrr Terrie, I originally hail from Ontario, born and raised in North Bay!1
20:40:18 signingminionmaker Do you miss our winters?
20:40:50 WeeHands a true northern ontario chick!
20:40:59 tricia_sign_instrr I'm in Calgary, Terrie, still get to experience winters -although much drier - easy to tolerate!
20:41:15 signingminionmaker Hey, I spent many years in Edmonton as a child.
20:41:26 signingminionmaker Moved to Ontario when I was seven
20:41:33 tricia_sign_instrr Cool, Terrie do you remember Edmn?
20:41:54 ourwiefamily I'm a north central US gal myself ... I'm about an hour from Canada these days.
20:42:08 signingminionmaker I remember wierd days that would be short weather and then snow and then hot.  I remember the mounds of snow because they didn't use salt on their roads.
20:42:12 WeeHands where  ourwiefamily ?
20:42:18 tricia_sign_instrr Hey, Sara, didn't you know I'm good friends with Shania Twain - she grew up in N. Ontario Timmin!!
20:42:37 tricia_sign_instrr I'm just kidding!  *)
20:43:22 WeeHands i just had a class request for Timmins!
20:43:36 tricia_sign_instrr so when are you going up to teach??
20:43:48 WeeHands i'm from sault ste marie and timmins is too far for me!
20:43:58 signingminionmaker We shoiuld do a Weehands tour.
20:44:03 tricia_sign_instrr our wie - you in Montana?
20:44:05 WeeHands with a weehands bus!
20:44:16 WeeHands ND!
20:44:20 signingminionmaker with magnetic advertising on the sides
20:44:39 tricia_sign_instrr you gals are too funny
20:44:52 signingminionmaker We could be bigger the HI5
20:45:02 WeeHands i'm picturing a different version of the partridge bus!
20:45:03 signingminionmaker than, than, can't spell tonight
20:45:10 signingminionmaker I was too!!!
20:45:19 tricia_sign_instrr lol
20:45:26 WeeHands i think we are the only ones who appreciate HI5 terrie!
20:45:45 tricia_sign_instrr yes, I'm not in the loop with HI5..ladies
20:45:51 signingminionmaker Yeah, well now that my girls can sign movie it's HI5 and blues clues all day
20:46:19 ourwiefamily H15????  I'm so lost!
20:46:19 signingminionmaker HI5 is an american show based an an australian show for kids.
20:46:41 tricia_sign_instrr a sign question ladies....
20:46:41 signingminionmaker It's kind of like wiggles but better in my eyes
20:47:53 tricia_sign_instrr I plan to teach signs for the song He's got the whole world in his hands".."
20:48:04 signingminionmaker Hey is there a sign for bum beyond touching or pointing at one's bottom.
20:48:09 tricia_sign_instrr any suggestions for signing the part in his hands"?"
20:48:36 signingminionmaker could you sign in and then exaggerate showing your hands to everyone?
20:48:57 ourwiefamily what is the sign for in"?"
20:49:05 ourwiefamily and world for that matter?  LOL
20:49:17 ourwiefamily and ummm God too
20:49:37 ourwiefamily We've been doing this song for a while but just doing the acctions I learned as a child for the refrain, then the new signs we know in the verses
20:49:44 tricia_sign_instrr shape left hand c" then dip the right hand into it. Right had has same shape as "more""
20:50:20 ourwiefamily that is in"?"
20:50:24 signingminionmaker I don't know god but I know Jesus is showing the dominant hand palm up and tapping with non dominant hand where the nails would have pierced and then doing the same switching hands.
20:50:29 tricia_sign_instrr I realize that He" represents "God" in the song, however, it's sort of become a non-religious song for many"
20:50:53 WeeHands hmmm, show your hands, sign world" over the space where your hands were and sign point to there?"
20:51:06 tricia_sign_instrr yes that is Jesus! Our music teacher uses it in my son's school (attends Catholic school Gr. 5)
20:51:12 ourwiefamily We just point up ... so what does pointing up mean?  What am I sayng when I sing that song?  hmmmm
20:51:28 signingminionmaker means up
20:51:44 ourwiefamily So I'm saying .... Up has a circle?  LOL
20:51:53 tricia_sign_instrr point up means upstairs" if you are in a house or "p in the sky" if you are outside."
20:51:53 ourwiefamily Or waht does making the big dramatic circle mean?
20:52:04 tricia_sign_instrr There is a nice sign for God". it's in most books"
20:52:24 WeeHands sign God" point to "him", "world" "his" "hands" - does that make any sense"
20:52:43 signingminionmaker Yeah, i like that weehands
20:52:58 tricia_sign_instrr Oh Sara,. that's way too difficult!!!!
20:53:10 WeeHands really?
20:53:24 signingminionmaker Not if you sing slow
20:53:58 WeeHands you can leave out the God" sign, but wouldn't you have to place "he/him" somewhere?"
20:55:14 tricia_sign_instrr I thought I could place he" in space as native ASL signers do and then keep pointing to that space thru-out song"
20:55:19 WeeHands i don't think you would have to sign in" - but illustrate the fact idea that he holds the world. . . mmmm!"
20:55:22 tricia_sign_instrr It' for a Level 2 for toddlers
20:55:43 WeeHands You could ask Laura, one of instructors who's Deaf.
20:56:03 WeeHands hi littleants!
20:56:34 WeeHands tricia_sign_instrr that would be good to use the space where he" is?"
20:57:00 WeeHands i wonder what someone would think of the flow of this conversation who didn't know ASL!!
20:57:06 tricia_sign_instrr Yes, Sara I agree. Okay my suggestion for signing phrase in his hands" is holding out my hands,palms up, side-by side with fingers spread slightly - as if to suggest "holding something""
20:57:35 WeeHands i like that - would you sign world" before or after this?"
20:57:59 WeeHands 4 more minutes for our chat!
20:58:06 WeeHands no 3!
20:58:09 tricia_sign_instrr it would be so much better if we were in person trying different signs - this takes so long to typ & read
20:58:29 WeeHands i know! we need video links!
20:58:36 tricia_sign_instrr I pretty much sign in English word order and leave out the little stuff (ie: words)
20:58:38 ourwiefamily and me sitting here w/ my ASL dictionary trying to follow along and thinking any deaf person probably laughs at me when I sing this song.  ;)
20:58:52 WeeHands ;)
20:59:13 ourwiefamily The sign for world is cool, though, if I am understanding it right
20:59:27 tricia_sign_instrr Sara is dreaming of her beauty sleep........
20:59:31 WeeHands i'm trying to move from english word order to ASL concepts.  Laura is translating all our nursery rhyme songs to ASL for us!
20:59:52 WeeHands i'm insulted - I don't need beauty sleep!
20:59:56 tricia_sign_instrr Oh, that's great Sara. I would love to see a couple translated!!
20:59:56 ourwiefamily Wow ... that will be cool WeeHands
21:00:20 tricia_sign_instrr sorry Sara.... :blush:
21:00:32 WeeHands we're thinking first training video/DVD for our instructors . . .then who knows!
21:00:47 signingminionmaker The world's the limit
21:01:01 WeeHands tricia_sign_instrr just kidding, just trying to be nice for the next chat! baby wearing at 10 pm
21:01:01 tricia_sign_instrr so I need an opinion on my open hands" as if holding something ..... from you guys.."
21:01:31 ourwiefamily Or 9 pm for those of us in cental
21:01:35 ourwiefamily central, I mean
21:01:53 ourwiefamily we need vonnie here tonight.  :)
21:01:57 WeeHands Let's move over to the meeting place, if that's okay, so the babywearing chat can get started - too bad we can't be in two rooms at the same time - I wish it was 9 pm hear!
21:02:05 tricia_sign_instrr yes, I was hoping vonnie would be here!
21:02:17 tricia_sign_instrr yeh change rooms
21:02:20 signingminionmaker i've gotta run and do my homework.  Talk more later.  Bye
21:02:25 ourwiefamily vonnie has two ids.  I've been thinking about doing that so I can double attend
21:02:29 tricia_sign_instrr bye terrie
21:02:45 signingminionmaker Have a good night everyone!!
21:02:48 ourwiefamily But my dh is already getting impatient for me to get off computer.  ;)  So we will see.  I'm going to try to stay for the babywearing chat for a bit at least.
21:02:51 WeeHands OFFICIAL END OF THE SIGNING WITH BABY CHAT! THIS CHAT IS TRANSCRIPTED AND POSTED ON THE SUNDAY FOLLOWING THIS CHAT...TO FIND THE TRANSCRIPTS AFTER THEY ARE POSTED, PLEASE CLICK ON TRANSCRIPTS" IN THE NAVIGATION BAR. ALSO, PLEASE JOIN THE MOMMYCHATS EGROUP AT http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mommychats TO RECEIVE NOTICES ABOUT TRANSCRIPTS BEING POSTED, UPCOMING CHAT REMINDERS AND ANY OTHER MOMMY CHATS NEWS. :)"

 

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